Search results
- Dictionarycatch-22/kætʃtwentiˈtuː/
noun
- 1. a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions: "a catch-22 situation"
Powered by Oxford Dictionaries
noun
Powered by Oxford Dictionaries
Situation in which an individual cannot or is incapable of avoiding a problem because of contradictory constraints or rules
A catch-22 is a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules or limitations. The term was coined by Joseph Heller, who used it in his 1961 novel Catch-22. Catch-22s often result from rules, regulations, or procedures that an individual is subject to, but has no control over, because to fight the rule is to accept it. Another example is a situation in ... Wikipedia